Irish vs. The Admirals pre-game summary presented by “The General”
Prior to the summary we want to say congrats to Nolan Coulter for winning the Prep Extra Offensive Player of the Week. Click here to read the story. Way to go Nolan!!!
VS. 
FARRAGUT Admirals (0-2/0-0)
at
CATHOLIC Irish (2-0/0-0)
September 1, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Blaine Stadium/Hollin Field
SETTING THE SCENE – Catholic plays its first District 4AAA game of the 2012 season tonight…Irish are ranked sixth in this weeks Associated Press Class 5A poll…Irish have won 89 of their last 112 games…Farragut leads the series, 2-1… Coulter has 2,719 career rushing yards…Coulter has 13 career 100-yard rushing efforts…Coulter rushed for 200 yards and two scores in last week’s win at Cleveland…Irish piled up 402 rushing yards in that win…Catholic’s defense has allowed just 66 yards rushing this season… Lacey leads the Irish in tackles…
THE RECORDS – Catholic is 2-0 in 2012. The Irish opened their season with a 35-0 home win over Central, then won at Cleveland, 41-26, last week. Farragut is 0-2 this year. The Admirals lost, 42-14, at Dobyns-Bennett in their opener and lost at home to Oak Ridge, 28-24, last week.
ON THE SIDELINE – Scott Meadows is in his fourth year at the helm of the Irish. His record at Catholic is 19-17. In his 14th year as a head coach, Meadows has posted a 107-52 career record (.673). Previous stops for the Tennessee Tech graduate include Sequoyah, Alcoa, Jefferson County, and William Blount. His 2000 Alcoa squad captured the state title.
RACK ’EM UP — Catholic has won 76 of its last 92 regular season games.
DISTRICT FOES – Catholic participates in Class 5A. The Irish are in District 4AAA, which includes (playoff bracket in parentheses): West (5A), Lenoir City (5A), Bearden (6A), Farragut (6A), Heritage (6A), Maryville (6A), and William Blount (6A).
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 10 (Class 5A) – Catholic is ranked sixth in this week’s Associated Press Class 5A poll. West is ranked first with three first-place votes and 156 overall. The remainder of the Top 10 includes: 2. Beech (10/132); 3. Henry County (2/127); 4. Morristown West (1/87); 5. Ridgeway (2/80); 6. Catholic (71); 7. Lenoir City (69); 8. Shelbyville (1/57); 9. Powell (51); 10. Dyer County (43)
TEAM STATS — Catholic averages 416.5 yards per-game in total offense, including 397.5 yards on the ground and 19 yards through the air. Defensively, Catholic allows 192.5 yards per-game, including 33 yards on the ground and 159.5 yards through the air. Catholic averages 38 points per-game. Opponents average 13 points per-game.
TURNOVER MARGIN – Catholic is even in turnover margin this season. The Irish have thrown two interceptions and lost two fumbles, while opponents have thrown two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
SERIES VS. FARRAGUT – Farragut leads the series with Catholic, 2-1. Here’s a look:
2009: @Farragut 20, Catholic 12
2010: @Catholic 21, Farragut 18
2011: @Farragut 31, Catholic 10
LAST YEAR VS. FARRAGUT – Catholic dropped its first District 4AAA game of the season as it lost at Farragut, 31-10. The Irish took the opening kickoff and moved down the field, with a 35-yard Gabe Saavedra field goal capping an 11-play drive to give the Irish a 3-0 lead. Farragut answered with two first-quarter touchdowns, then added a 40-yard field goal as the second quarter expired to take a 17-3 lead at the half. The Admirals then opened the second half by returning the kickoff for a touchdown and added another score later in the quarter. Catholic put more points on the board late in the game when Matt Armstrong passed two yards to Logan Lacey. Nolan Coulter led the Irish rushing attack with 96 yards on 20 carries. Coulter also had six tackles.
DISTRICT 4AAA STANDINGS – Here’s a look at the 2012 District 4AAA standings:
DISTRICT OVERALL
Catholic 0-0 2-0
Bearden 0-0 2-0
Maryville 0-0 2-0
West 0-0 2-0
Lenoir City 0-0 1-0
Wm. Blount 0-0 1-1
Farragut 0-0 0-2
Heritage 0-0 0-2
Last week’s results
Catholic 41, Cleveland 26
Lenoir City 28, Loudon 7
William Blount 30, Central 20
Oak Ridge 28, Farragut 24
Hardin Valley 46, Heritage 14
Bearden 38, Morristown East 7
West 27, Fulton 26
Maryville 42, Alcoa 24
Thursday’s games
Lenoir City @ Heritage
William Blount @ Bearden
Friday’s game
Maryville @ West
Saturday’s game
Farragut @ Catholic
Last Week – The Irish rushing attack was on display again in a 41-26 win at Cleveland. Catholic rushed for 402 yards and six touchdowns on the evening. After spotting the Blue Raiders a 7-0 lead, Cole Lombardo even the score with his eight-yard run late in the first quarter. Logan Lacey went in from four yards to give the Irish a 14-7 advantage early in the second stanza. Cleveland knotted the score at 14-14 with a touchdown just before halftime. The Blue Raiders took the second half kickoff and marched to a score, upping their lead to 20-14. Catholic then proceeded to score on its’ next four possessions. Nolan Coulter scored on a one-yard run, and Nathan Teter’s extra-point gave the Irish a 21-20 lead. Another Coulter one-yard run upped the margin to 27-20. A 40-yard dash from Lombardo and another Coulter run, this a 14-yarder, gave Catholic a 41-20 advantage. Cleveland added a touchdowns midway through the final quarter. Coulter rushed 32 times for 200 yards and was a PrepXtra Offensive Player of the Week nominee. Lombardo added 89 yards on 12 carries, while Lacey provided 78 yards on 11 carries. Catholic’s defense limited Cleveland to just 37 yards rushing. Coulter and Logan Irwin led the way with seven tackles each. Coulter also had an interception, his second of the year.
DOWN THE FIELD – Catholic has had three touchdown drives covering ten or more plays this season. Here’s a look:
Opponent Plays-Yards-TOP Scoring play
Central 11-71-3:34 Lacey 4 run
Central 13-97-5:52 Anderson 2 run
Cleveland 10-72-4:08 Coulter 1 run
INDIVIDUAL STATS – Nolan Coulter has rushed 51 times for 430 yards, an 8.4 yards per-carry average, and five touchdowns this season. Cole Lombardo has carried 21 times for 152 yards and three scores. Tanner Sharp is 4-of-13 passing for 38 yards. Coulter has two receptions for six yards, while Logan Lacey has one grab for 25 yards. Lombardo also has one catch for seven yards.
TOP STOPPERS – Logan Lacey leads Catholic in tackles with 15, including one tackle for-loss. Eric White and Logan Irwin each have 13 tackles.
POINTS ON THE BOARD – Nolan Coulter leads the Irish in scoring this season with 30 points (five TD’s). Cole Lombardo has 18 points (three TD’s), while Logan Lacey has 12 points (two TD’s).
HIT THE CENTURY MARK – Nolan Coulter has 13 career 100-yard rushing games. Here’s a look:
Opponent Att-Yds TDs
Farragut 17-147 1 2010
Maryville 18-104 0 “
Columbia 23-127 1 “
Central 28-144 2 2011
Cleveland 28-133 4 “
William Blount 18-170 1 “
Webb 17-102 0 “
Lenoir City 27-115 0 “
West 20-129 2 “
Heritage 24-298 4 “
Bearden 27-125 2 “
Central 19-230 2 2012
Cleveland 32-200 5 “
MORE THAN 1,000 – Nolan Coulter had 1,368 rushing yards last season. He became the first Irish player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2009. Dorian Cozart rushed for 1,476 yards that season.
MORE THAN 2,500 – Nolan Coulter has 2,719 rushing yards for his career. Coulter had 921 rushing yards in 2010 and 1,368 rushing yards last year. He has 430 rushing yards in 2012.
THE LAST GO ‘ROUND – Catholic’s 2012 roster includes 15 seniors. Included are Timmy Gibbons (WR/DB/P), Joey Cook (WR/DB), Stuart Smith (RB/LB), Cole Lombardo (RB/DB), Hayden Varner (TE/LB), Nolan Coulter (RB/LB), Nathan Teter (K), Reese Staley (OL/LB), Will Easley (OL/NG), Theo Sholly (OL/NG), Dakota Raines (OL/NG), Alex Smolens (OL/DE), Tyler O’Brien (OL/DE), Garrett Depp (OL/NG), and Zach Cole (OL/DE).
ON THE RADIO – The game is being broadcast on WNML, The Sports Animal (99.1-FM). John Wilkerson handles play-by-play, while former Tennessee Vol David Ligon adds commentary.
UP NEXT – Catholic will enjoy an open date next week. The Irish will travel to district foe William Blount Sept. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
